Scope zoom levers are handles that make it much easier for a shooter to change the level of magnification on a rifle or spotting scope. Scope zoom levers attach to the power adjustment ring of any rifle or spotting scope. Instead of having to pinch the power adjustment ring and turn it to adjust the level of magnification, a shooter can simply push on the lever with a finger. This enables the shooter to adjust the scope's power setting without leaving the shooting position (dismounting the rifle) or losing his or her sight picture. Furthermore, the power adjustment ring can be easily adjusted even while wearing gloves or in slippery or wet conditions. Additionally, in cold climates, the grease used by the scope manufacturer thickens, making the scope adjustment more difficult. The ability to quickly adjust the scope's power setting is particularly appealing to 3-gun competitors, military and law enforcement snipers, and hunters, who must rapidly switch from a low power with a wide field of view to a high power setting with a much narrower field of view.
A variety of prior art scope zoom levers have been created for several existing rifle scopes. However, most of these have the disadvantage of being highly customized to fit a specific rifle scope model's power adjustment ring. As a result, the manufacturer must make, and a retailer must stock, many different precisely machined scope zoom levers at considerable expense in order to comprehensively address the market. As a result, even scope zoom levers that are made of plastic rather than aluminum still cost a substantial percentage of the cost of a rifle scope.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved scope zoom lever that provides a handle for the power adjustment ring of any rifle scope. In this regard, the various embodiments of the present invention substantially fulfill at least some of these needs. In this respect, the scope zoom lever according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing a handle for the power adjustment ring of any optical equipment with an adjustable power setting.